Creating Pressure, Forcing Turnovers Can Help Denver Broncos' Defense

Only leading 16-13 going into the fourth quarter, the Denver Broncos looked like they were going into another fight to the finish on Sunday. However, safety Mike Adams did not want to see that again.

Adams made the turning point of what would have been a close game by intercepting a pass from Matt Schaub while under pressure that set the Broncos up deep inside Houston Texans‘ territory. The Broncos would go on to score a touchdown later on in the drive and began to pull away in what ended as a 37-13 win. Give Adams credit for that turnaround. This has been a defensive unit that has been criticized all season long. With how close the game was getting, the Broncos really needed to see something from their defense. While this unit has not been consistent, there is one thing that they excel at — forcing turnovers.

The defense has found a way to make up for its statistical disadvantage, and that is by pressuring the quarterback into making a bad play on the ball or even better turning the ball back to Peyton Manning and the explosive offense that they have. The Broncos get plenty of criticism, but when the team needs a big play from the defense to give the offense a chance they don’t disappoint. We saw it against the Dallas Cowboys in the shootout back in October, and they even set the tone for the first meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs with a fumble recovery. We even saw flashes of how they can create pressure and turnovers against the New England Patriots.

Say what you want about the bad statistics, but when it comes to making the big plays that the team needs to make a turnaround or get the opposing team out of the game, the Broncos have the pressure to do exactly that which I believe will help them come January.